


Wherever You Stray, I Follow

by ymnfilter



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Felicity Smoak Loves Oliver Queen, Figure Skater Felicity Smoak, Fluff, Ice Hockey player Oliver Queen, No Angst, Oliver Queen Loves Felicity Smoak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:22:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28667682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ymnfilter/pseuds/ymnfilter
Summary: The one where figure skater Felicity Smoak and hockey player Oliver Queen meet in high school, and well, fall in love with each other.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Comments: 44
Kudos: 245
Collections: Olicity Sport





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this work is from Taylor Swift's 'Willow'
> 
> I've been writing this fic on and off for almost a week and it's finally done. Funny thing is, I've written 15+ fanfics but this is probably the first one that isn't already established Olicity. 
> 
> I'm really bad at writing slow burn, or just two people falling in love in general, and this was my first real go at it. So, I hope you like it.
> 
> anyway, enough talking, HAPPY READING!
> 
> p.s. if you want to know when i update, or just want to read me rant, you can follow me on:
> 
> tumblr: [@ymnfilter](https://ymnfilter.tumblr.com)  
> twitter: [@ymnfilter](https://twitter.com/ymnfilter)

_ He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger. -Emily Bronte (Wuthering heights) _

* * *

Felicity remembers it clearly, the day she decided she was going to be a figure skater.

She had been seven years old and it had been around 8 days since the morning her father left for office and then just… never came home. She had been scared at first. Scared that something must have happened, an accident? a kidnapping? Maybe he just got lost? But then the police called and said that all of his bank accounts had been accessed and emptied by Noah Cutler himself, leaving them with not a penny and the rent due in twenty days.

That was when Donna went from depressed to angry, and Felicity went from scared to hopeful. Maybe he would come back. Maybe he just needed a bit of a break. She knew she and her mother were a bit much sometimes. They were too bright. They talked too much. Maybe he just needed a bit of a silence. 

Maybe he would come back?

Only, a week passed and he didn’t. Her mother got a part-time job at the convenience store down the block and was looking for another so that she could pay their bills. Felicity hadn’t even touched Gerty, her computer that she had only just finished building a month or so ago, inexplicably hating anything technology because that the end, everything about that skill came from her father,

And Felicity hated her father.

That night, she remembers, some show or the other was playing reruns of last year’s Olympics, and Felicity, after having done her homework had been slumped on the couch, channel surfing and trying to curb down the temptation to tinker with a few tech projects she had started from before. She had stopped suddenly, when the recaps turned to the figure skating competitions, she hadn’t known a lot about sports before, had shown no interest in anything athletic ever before but there was just something about it- about figure skating, that just looked so  _ freeing. _

The screen was showing Sasha Cohen, a 22nd year old girl from Salt Lake City who won the silver medal for her country. She was a slight girl, like most women in the league were, but she had looked so big to Felicity at the moment, dancing on the ice the way she had, as if she were weightless. Worriless.

Sasha Cohen, according to the commentator, had had an issue with inconsistency during her entire run, according to Sasha it was because she strived for perfection and always buried herself in expectations. But during her program, Felicity couldn’t see it. During her program, Sasha Cohen truly was utter perfection.

She flipped and turned and spun and glided across the ice, a spark of glitter blue amongst a sky of white. She had looked breath-taking, she had looked in control, she had looked powerful.

And Felicity had wanted to be that girl.

The next day, she had sold her computer Gerty at the neighborhood electronic store and traded the money in for a pair of Ice Skates.

Donna had yelled when she had found out, thinking that it was Felicity's way of rebelling against her father’s memory, and maybe part of it was exactly that. But, there was another part of her, a much bigger part, that knew that she was serious about this. She wanted to be on that ice. She wanted to fly just like Sasha Cohen had, and more than anything, she wanted to feel in control.

Donna Smoak couldn’t support her child’s genius even when she was living with her husband. Her daughter was bright, with dreams so high they touched the sky, and as much as Donna wanted to give Felicity the sun, the moon, and all the stars, she just really, really couldn’t. Things like telescopes and Space Camps and top of the line processors or Coding clubs had been out of their budget even when Noah had been living with them. Without him and his financial help, Donna had no idea how she was supposed to keep Felicity happy.

And then, one day she had come home to most of the house cleared of wires and circuit boards, all of it either sold or dumped in trash. She had been livid, even though she knew she had no right to be. But, she had felt that Felicity was giving up on her dreams because of her father, and that was the last thing Donna had wanted for her daughter.

But then, Felicity had shown her the pair of baby pink ice skates and rambled on about Sasha something or the other and Donne had calmed a little. 

Maybe her baby was still giving up a big part of her, but she wasn’t giving up entirely. Donna could work with that. She might have not been able to afford all the expensive equipment that computers and technology and science demanded, but she would be damned if she couldn’t afford a couple of skating classes that were being held down at the community ice rink for her only daughter.

The next day, Donna went in search of a third job.

In the end, Felicity really couldn’t stay away from the allure of computers and tech for too long, but even as she started saving for parts again, her passion for skating didn’t die. It was hard work. Felicity wasn’t naturally athletic, and she hated sweating. Mrs.Collins, their coach, was a beast, and made them practice for hours on end after school. But, Felicity didn’t mind it,

Because when she was on that ice, practicing her turns and stumbling through her spins, there was only one thing on her mind. And it wasn’t her mom, or her absent dad, or her studies. The only thing on her mind then, was to not fall down.

She felt in control.

❅❅❅❅

Oliver Queen had always been a restless child. Moira had lost count of how many times she had had to admonish him for climbing onto book shelves or jumping off of cabinets or tracking mud over her thousand dollars Persian rugs. He bounced off of walls when he had nothing to do, and no matter how many etiquette classes Moira enrolled him into, his behavior never improved.

“What about sports? Is there a particular physical activity he likes to do?” Dr.Martinez, Oliver’s pediatrician asked during one of their routine checkups, watching the little five year old Ollie from the corner of her eyes where he was jumping up and down on the brown leather couch in her office, giggling every time his floppy hair fluffed in air for a second before settling down to his forehead again.

“He doesn’t have a lot of friends, I’m afraid. There’s Tommy, but the boy has severe asthma and just can’t keep up with Oliver’s pace. As you can imagine, both me and Robert are often too busy to play with him. And Raisa, she’s our- well, help. Raisa plays catch with him every now and then, but she’s getting a bit too old now.”

“Hmm.” 

Moira narrowed her eyes slightly at that vague response, feeling judgement coming off of the other woman. Most other people might not understand why she couldn’t just entertain her own son, but most other people weren’t the Queens.

“Aren’t there medications for this sort of thing?” She asked, hesitantly lowering her voice so that her son couldn’t overhear, “For overactive children like Oliver?”

Dr.Martinez leaned back in her seat, but shook her head, “For children with ADHD yes, but that’s usually not the first course of action. And while I may not be qualified exactly to say this, I don’t think your son can actually be diagnosed with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Most of the time, Oliver’s a perfectly polite boy. He understands and responds to instructions well, and from what you tell me, he has no trouble at school. All he needs is just some focus and a way to expel all that extra energy.”

Moira sighed, crossed her arms over her chest, “And how do you propose I do that?”

Dr.Martinez shrugged, “Sign him up for sports.” She opened one of the drawers in the cabinet behind her and pulled out a flyer, “Here, there is a Coach Latimer who teaches toddlers Oliver’s age hockey. It’s all fairly safe, but it’s also very exhausting. Who knows? Maybe Ollie will like it.”

Moira took the flyer with a dubious ‘hmm’, an eyebrow raising when she realized the coach was a woman by the name of Rosalind Latimer. She turned back to look at Oliver, who had moved on from the couch and was now attempting to climb on top of the check up bed at the side of the office. She sighed and looked down at the flyer again, noting down the address and the phone number. She supposed it couldn’t hurt.

She stood up, giving Dr.Martinez a small polite smile as she straightened her blazer, not that it had wrinkled at all in the first place. She turned around, and smiled when she saw Oliver had already come up to stand beside her,

“Come on, my beautiful boy.” She said, and picked him up. He was getting heavier as time went by, and she knew she didn’t have a lot of days left when she would just effortlessly be able to carry him on her hip. She was cherishing those moments now. “Let’s go home.” 

Oliver waved the nice doctor lady bye-bye from over his mother’s shoulder, and grinned when the doctor waved back, his little feet kicking in excitement. He really was all too easily excitable.

Ice Hockey, for Oliver, was all about speed. It was about running away. He reveled in the way the air whipped against his face and through his hair, how despite all the guards and gear, in those skates and on that rink, he felt weightless.

He remembers his very first day at the Starling community ice rink, meeting all these new kids and feeling all sorts of nervous up until the moment he had skates under his feet, after which he had spent the next hour and a half just tripping and laughing and sliding maybe an inch and then falling all over again and basically just having the time of his life.

He had come home that evening, eyes half mast in his exhaustion and fallen asleep on the parlor couch an hour after dinner. That in itself, was a good enough reason to continue for Moira.

Oliver was a rich kid most of the time. He was a spoiled kid and the kid who got everything handed to him on a golden spoon. That is, until he was in his uniform. At which point, he was just Oliver. Another player in a sea of players, running away from all his problems since age five.

Oliver played hockey when he was five because the mansion he was raised in felt more like a giant cage than a home.

He played when he turned nine because he found out he was getting a little sister, and he was angry because his parents barely had any time for him as it were, he was sure with another kid they would just forget all about him.

He played when he turned thirteen because he found his first girlfriend kissing another boy under the monkey bars.

He played when he turned fourteen because he cheated on his then girlfriend with another girl under the same monkey bars.

He played when he turned sixteen because his father had started talking about how Oliver was ultimately going to inherit and run the company after college despite Oliver never having expressed any interest in business.

Oliver loved hockey. It didn’t matter what was going on in his life, how much he had fucked up his overall GPA with his ever glowing Fs and D-s or how many times he had made Laurel angry by flirting with another girl or forgetting a date, as long as he got to play hockey, Oliver was happy.

It really was no surprise then, when he turned seventeen, he became the first junior to be made captain of his high school hockey team. Starling City Prep School was a fancy school that boasted plenty of extra-curricular activities for their idle rich students. Oliver was in the Hockey team with his ‘brother-in-arms’ John Diggle, his best friend Tommy, was in -surprisingly enough- the anime/manga club, Laurel was the president of the debate team, and her sister Sara in the fencing team.

Starling Prep was a huge institute, spanning hundreds of acres of land and accommodated it’s student body with all kinds of sports courts and rings. Oliver may hate the education part of going to school, but he was always early every morning just so he could get a few peaceful minutes on the ice rink by himself before the rest of the players arrived.

Hockey was a sanctuary he had found when he was a child, and strangely enough, it had led him directly in the path of the woman who would become, in a million different little ways, his salvation.

❅❅❅❅

Felicity was fifteen when her mother told her they were moving away. Vegas was a difficult place to live in for most people, but it was even more difficult for a single mother raising a daughter with a genius level IQ. Especially when that single mother had quit high school because she fell in love with a too-clever-for-his-own-good man when she was seventeen and decided she wanted to marry him instead.

So, when Donna Smoak got the opportunity to work at her childhood friend Bev’s husband’s four star hotel as a receptionist, she  _ jumped  _ at it. And because Felicity knew how her mother struggled to make ends meet, she just nodded and asked when they were leaving.

The move to Starling City was hard. Not because Felicity had particularly liked her school life, but because she was unhealthily attached to the people she had met and befriended during after hours when she figure skated.

Kelsey and Sydney were two of her best friends. The trio had met at the rink when they were seven, when they had all accidentally bumped into each other at the beginning of their training and caused a three-way collision. Their coach at the time, Mrs.Collins, liked to say that they were like magnets, and nobody could pry them apart from each other long enough.

Since then, they had been through three different coaches as they grew older and more skilled. They had been through each other's first kisses and first boyfriends and first breakups. They had been through Kelsey realizing she was bisexual to Sydney’s parents divorcing to Felicity’s mother’s rather shitty luck with boyfriends. And now, Felicity was going away, miles and miles and miles, and no matter how much she wanted to reassure them that yes, of course she will come to visit, and no, of course this wasn’t the end,

She just- she didn’t  _ know. _

At least she had been able to get a scholarship to one of the best schools in the city. Between that, and the much better apartment they could now afford thanks to Donna’s new job, Starling wasn’t necessarily  _ bad.  _ It was just,  _ really lonely. _

Starling Prep had a thousand different clubs to choose from, but they didn’t have a figure skating team. Felicity wasn’t exactly surprised, the routines might look pretty and fascinating, but children rarely ever had the patience to religiously stick to the regiment that would get them to that stage, and so while it was a fairly popular sport to watch, and it held it’s fair share of competitions, schools rarely ever provided a coach or a rink for a sport you would have to have begun in your early childhood.

But, Starling Prep did have a hockey team, which meant that they had an ice rink. And really, that was all Felicity really needed to be happy.

So, her first day at Starling Prep in the middle of her Junior year, Felicity showed up an hour before classes actually started, changed in the girl’s locker room from her private school uniform to a pair of black yoga pants, a sports bra and an oversized maroon MIT hoodie she had bought online last year when she had realized that was the college that she wanted to go to, switched her glasses out for a contacts lest the frames fly off and got on the ice.

There wasn’t a routine, not really, but there was rhythm. Felicity moved to her breaths, spun to her heartbeats. Smiled every time her blades landed on the ice with a satisfied  _ thunk _ every time she jumped and landed with her legs straight. She was in control of every limb, every tilt of her head, every bent of her feet. She may have been too young to compete on a professional level, but Felicity knew that she was good at this, just as she knew she was good at her computers. She kept her eyes closed, and her muscles tensed. She skated till her breaths labored into pants and her thighs screamed with a burn that was more satisfaction than pain. And when she stopped, there was nothing but a sudden screech of her blades digging into ice and her echoing breathing-

And then there was applause.

Felicity jerked, then spun around, her eyes blinking open in surprise to see someone else in the hall. There was a boy stood just outside the rink, in a red and white player uniform that she knew were school colors. He looked about her age, but god- was he tall. Also, really wide. Felicity wondered how much of it was him and how much of it was the padding. He was really cute too. All floppy blonde hair and baby blue eyes that were lingering on her in a way that made Felicity blush from flattered embarrassment,

“Don’t think I’ve seen you around before.” He called out, and then jumped over the boards to enter the rink, already in his skates. He winked before continuing, “And trust me, I would’ve remembered that.”

He might have been referring to her ass. Felicity wasn’t quite sure. Her eyes widened at his callous comment anyway even as the flush around her cheeks darkened,

“Oh. Um.” She shook her head, skated closer to stand in front of him and offered her hand, “I’m Felicity Smoak. This is my first day.”

“Oliver Queen.” He said, giving her hand a good shake, then bringing it up to his lips to give her knuckles a kiss. She wanted to giggle at the gesture as much as she wanted to roll her eyes. She settled on narrowing them in confusion. Were all Starling city boys this presumptuous? “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Right.” She extracted her hand from his gingerly, very pointedly stuffed both of them in her pockets. He just grinned at her amusedly, completely undeterred, and Felicity couldn’t help it, her lips twitched slightly in an answering smile,

“I’m guessing you’re on the hockey team?” She asked when the silence had gone on too long. She looked around the court, but except for the two of them, the rest of the hall was empty, “I’m not intruding on your practice hours, am I?

“Don’t worry, practice doesn’t start for half an hour yet.” He answered, “I just like to get here a little early. You’re a figure skater? We don’t have any of them here.”

“I figured.” Felicity gave him a smirk, “There weren’t any in my last school either.”

“Yeah? Where are you from anyway?”

“Vegas.” She replied, then promptly changed the subject, “Why do you come so early?”

Oliver shrugged, “Skating is freeing. What about you? Why figure skating?”

“Because it makes me feel in control.” She shrugged in a similar manner. They stared at each other for a moment, silently sizing the other up, and then they grinned,

“Felicity Smoak.” Oliver said, pronounced, all pompous like in a way that  _ did _ make Felicity roll her eyes, but she was still smiling, “I think we’re going to get along great.”

❅❅❅❅

Oliver loved watching Felicity skate in a way he didn’t think he had ever loved anything before. 

It wasn’t just about how she looked- though, that  _ ass _ \- it was also about how she  _ smiled.  _ They way her face relaxed even as the rest of her body tensed. She looked different when she was skating, as if she had no worry in the world. As if nothing could ever go wrong as long as she was on those blades. Their circumstances might be different, their coping mechanisms for those circumstances might be different, Oliver ran while Felicity tried to rein everything in, but they had at least one thing in common -their love for the ice.

And so they started coming to the rink early together. Oliver got to school at six just in time to watch Felicity stretch and they skated for an hour, dividing the rink in two halves, Oliver practicing his slapshots while Felicity worked on her triple axels. They rarely ever actually talked in those moments, but there was a sense of camaraderie that Oliver had never felt before. A bond- as if they were a cohesive unit- as if they ice beneath their feet connected them in a way that went deeper than verbal communication.

It was cheesy, and stupid and Oliver would actually, legitimately  _ die  _ before he admitted it out loud to anyone else- but it was also really, very true.

After practice with Felicity, but before actual  _ practice  _ with the rest of the team, they sat on the bleachers and Oliver watched Felicity do her cool down routine and tried not to too obviously linger on certain parts of her body. She caught him sometimes, at which point he would grin even as he tried to pretend his face wasn’t flushing red. He had caught her staring at her arms, or momentarily exposed abs too many times to think that she would actually take offence at his appreciation.

“Are you going to go pro? After college?” He asked her during one of their mornings together, brain only half in working order because the other half had sort of just fizzed out the moment when Felicity had very easily stretched herself into a full split.  _ God _ , but that girl was flexible.

“Hmm? I don’t know. I want to compete, sure. But, it’s not like I can compete forever.” She replied, her voice coming off a little breathy, “At best, figure skaters can stretch their competitive careers to their mid-thirties.” She resumed to a comfortable sitting position and turned to face him,   
  


“What about you? You’re good. Do you wanna play hockey professionally?”

Oliver shrugged, laid down on the bleachers so that he was blinking sightlessly up at the overhead lights, “My dad wants me to take over Queen Consolidated after I graduate college.”

“That’s not what I asked.” She said simply, then stood and began stretching her quads, “You’re the youngest captain in the history of the team, Oliver. And that’s not because you’re a Queen. That’s because you’re just Oliver.”

“Well yeah, but this is high school.” Oliver said, sat up to look at Felicity. She looked cute, wearing white leggings that might as well have been painted on and a bright yellow cropped hoodie that rid up every time she so much as moved her arms and made Oliver lose his breath. “You can’t know you’re gonna make it professionally just because you’re good at  _ high school  _ hockey.”

“Doesn’t mean you  _ aren’t  _ good, either.” Felicity argued. She came over to sit next to him, and Oliver, without a thought, scooted closer till their legs touched. Felicity grinned up at him, and then promptly deposited one of her legs over his lap. He rolled his eyes, but relaxed, feeling something loosen in his chest now that she was close. He could smell her honey-vanilla shampoo. How she smelled so good after working out for an hour, he would never understand, but it was comforting nonetheless.

Felicity Smoak was slowly but surely getting under his skin, burrowing into his ribs and creating a place for herself in his heart that had to this day, only been reserved for people like Thea, or John or Tommy. 

“Oliver.” She started, bringing his attention back to her and he hmmed to show her he was listening. His eyes were on her hands though. Her nails were painted pretty pink today. Subtle and soft because anything too loud might get her reprimanded for breaking the uniform dress code. “Oliver, look at me.”

He blinked, looked at her. She was back to wearing glasses now that she was off the ice. Oliver had never found glasses attractive before. He wondered if they would mush against his face if he kissed her right now-

“Oliver, you’re amazing at hockey.”

It took an embarrassing amount of time to remember what they had been talking about before,

“I know.”

She smiled at his cockiness. For some reason, she found it terribly attractive on this ridiculous boy,

“And you’re going to keep being amazing at it.” She stated, “If you play in college, if you play after. You’re gonna be  _ so _ good at it.”

It was all getting a bit too heavy for him. The conversation, her eyes on him, his feelings for her. Oliver smirked, leaned in till their faces were inches apart and whispered right against her lips,

“Ms.Smoak, are you trying to convince me to disobey my father?” He teased.

The mood shifted drastically enough that Felicity was left reeling for a second. But, she knew the boy in front of her. Maybe better than he would like for her to. Anybody else in the world she would’ve gotten annoyed at, but Oliver, she understood on a level that even scared her sometimes.

They were different in all manners superficial, but when it mattered, for the things that really, truly, deep in your soul  _ mattered _ , they seemed to be cut from the same cloth.

She smiled a little sadly, watched him watch her and realize that he didn’t need to distract her. Didn’t need to be funny. His cheeks burned even as he tried to avert his eyes, but before he could, Felicity had his face trapped between her hands,

“Oliver Queen.” It wasn’t her loud voice, not exactly, but it was commanding enough that it had him widen his eyes in surprise, “If you ever choose to run your father’s business, I know for a fact that you’d be the best CEO in the entire universe-”

He interrupted, scoffed, “I’m failing economics.”

“That’s because you insist on sleeping in class. Now, hush. I’m talking.”

His lips, puckered as they still were, twitched up in a smile, “Yes, ma’am.”

Felicity grinned in response, then continued, “You’re sixteen years old. No matter what anyone tells you, you don’t need to decide your future right now. You don’t need to follow in anyone’s footsteps. You’re your own person and you’re my  _ favorite _ person. The rest will come when it will come. Do we have an understanding?”

He was amused now, she could see it as clear as day. He raised a knowing eyebrow in her direction, “I’m your favorite person?”

Felicity snorted, “Don’t fish for compliments.”

“No,” Oliver insisted, scooted so,  _ so _ impossibly closer, “No, but you said it, clear as day. I’m your favorite person in the whole, entire universe.”

“Eh. More like maybe in this room right now.”

“We’re the only two people here right now.”

“My point exactly, Queen.”

Oliver narrowed his eyes, but didn’t seem discouraged in the slightest. Instead he pulled one of her hands away from his face to give it a squeeze, pressed his lips against her fingertips for half a moment, “Don’t worry. You’re my favorite person too.”

And because they were the same in all the ways that really mattered, Felicity knew that was the truth.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for all the kudos and comments for the last chapter :) I'm glad you guys are enjoying this mini au.
> 
> anyway, don't really have anything to say. 
> 
> As always, to want to know when i upload next, or if you just want to talk to me, you can just follow me on:
> 
> twitter: [@ymnfilter](https://twitter.com/ymnfilter)
> 
> tumblr: [@ymnfilter](https://ymnfilter.tumblr.com/)

John Diggle met Felicity Smoak for the first time during her first day in the AP Physics class. She was the new girl, all bubbly and short and blonde. She was also, really, really intelligent, and a year younger than all the rest of her peers because she had skipped right through fourth grade. They got to talking when she was assigned the seat next to him, and for some reason had seemed to really like that he was on the hockey team,

“Really? I skate too. That’s how I met Oliver this morning.”

That surprised John, though he didn’t really know why. Felicity was cute. No doubt his friend had tried his luck on the new girl already. “Yeah? We didn’t see you at practice though.”

“No. I came early in the morning and left before school started.” She shook her head, “It really is something different, being alone on a rink. I’ve never seen a school have their own private ice rink. Is hockey really that popular around here?”

John shrugged, “Sure. People in Starling pay more attention to it than even football. What about you? Gonna join any clubs or teams?”

“That depends, is there a figure skating club?” She asked, raising an eyebrow and smiling. John’s lips twitched in an answering smile,

“No, no I think they missed that one.”

Felicity sighed in mock-disappointment, “Then I’m afraid I won’t be joining any clubs. One extracurricular is enough for me.”

The exchanged numbers after class, John letting her know that she could text him anytime she needed help or got lost in the ‘fucking massive building’. Felicity was glad she was making friends fairly easily. She had met Sarah Lance that afternoon afterschool in the library while she had been waiting for her mum to come pick her up. Sarah was the same age as her and a sophomore and yet another person who knew Oliver Queen because apparently he and Sarah’s sister had dated for like a year or something back in their sophomore year.

They became friends while Felicity waited for her mum, and Sarah for Laurel’s debate club to finish their meeting. They didn’t have all that much in common. They were in different classes, interested in different sports and had different taste in music, but Felicity liked Sarah. She was like a firecracker, all loud and spontaneous and bright. She reminded Felicity of her friends back in Vegas, and so despite having completely different opinions on pretty much everything, they made plans to go to the mall that weekend.

In the coming weeks, despite the hole that was left in her heart from the absence of Kelsey and Sydney, Felicity started to enjoy Starling. She couldn’t help but admit that there were perks to being in the new city. Her mom’s job was a huge one, and so was their apartment. Starling Prep’s reputation also opened gates for her higher education in a way a regular public school in Las Vegas wouldn’t have. And then, quite possibly the most surprising of them all,

There was Oliver Queen.

Oliver had a reputation in school. A reputation she was well aware of because that’s all literally everyone seemed to want to talk about when they found out that she and him were friends. She was aware that he was a playboy, aware that he flirted with every pretty girl he met, he had hit on her when they had first met, after all, but it was like nobody else seemed to realise that there was more to him than just  _ that _ .

Oliver Queen was more than just a rich boy with a pretty face and endless charm. He was the sweetest boy Felicity had ever met. He twirled on his skates like a ballerina while wearing his heavy padding hockey uniform in the early mornings just because he knew it made her laugh, he waved her hello every time they crossed paths in the hallways between classes, and he sought her out at lunch instead of sitting with his team or the rest of his friends, even on the days Felicity spent her lunch in the library because she had too much homework. They shared two classes together, Chemistry and English, and they spent both classes just passing notes and making faces at each other.

He treated her differently. Felicity didn’t know how she knew, but it just- it was in his eyes. She could read them like an open book and they never lied to her. It was no surprise then, that she fell for him. It was bloody inconvenient, considering he was very slowly becoming her best friend, but it wasn’t surprising in the least. 

  
  


❅❅❅❅

  
  


It wasn’t until May that year that Felicity called Reinor Smith, her Coach in Vegas about the national qualifying series that will soon be starting that year. Felicity had entered into competitions before, but they had mostly been more locally hosted ones. None of them would’ve given her a chance to go into nationals. But, she was turning sixteen this year, and it wasn’t really bragging when she said she was one of her coach’s best students.

Or well, it was a bit of a brag. But, it was a well deserved one.

She didn’t have a coach in Starling, and frankly, she was a bit too attached to Coach Smith to try and find another one. They understood each other well, and though there wasn’t any more hands on coaching considering the long distance, Felicity was good enough with her jumps that regular practice and monitoring through video calls was enough to maintain her technique.

With his help, she enrolled into the qualifying series just as Starling Prep’s hockey season picked up. And while Oliver and her still spent the morning before the rest of the hockey team arrived practicing together, Felicity also found herself staying back after school to watch the team practice the second time for the day so that she could get in a couple more hours of extra practice after they were done.

Between school work, and practice, Felicity knew it was going to be a pretty hectic year, and surprisingly, the one constant person who was by her side most of the time through it all, was Oliver. They met up in the mornings, they shared classes, they had lunch together, and then they watched each other practice after school while doing their homework. Well, she did her homework. Felicity was sure Oliver didn’t even open his textbook the entire time she skated.

“When is your first game?” Felicity asked him one day after school, a couple of weeks since they had settled into their new routine. They had been walking home together, not mentioning that Felicity had deliberately missed her bus and that Oliver had tossed his car keys to Tommy before the last class ended, just so that the two of them could walk together. They were strolling lazily through the walkways, their walk slow and a little wobbly considering how relaxed and tired they were.

“Next Friday. Against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. You’re gonna come watch?” Oliver asked, grabbing her hand and pulling her in closer towards him when it looked like she might run right into a fire hydrant seeing as she was staring up at the sky. Felicity didn’t say a thing about the lack of distance, instead tilting her head a little so that it rested on his shoulder,

“Would you like me too?” She asked,

Oliver tilted his head to look down at her. She was still looking up at the darkening sky above her, more of her body weight resting against his side with each step she took. It made him smile a little, and he pulled his hand away from hers to wrap an arm around her shoulders,

“Yeah. Yeah, I would like that very much.”

“Then consider me there.” She said, brought up a hand to lazily make a check mark in the air, smiling a little loopily in her exhaustion. Oliver grinned back, just as exhausted but feeling excitement bubble up in his gut at the idea of sitting on the bleachers, cheering specifically for him. And well, maybe for John too, considering they were friends, but for  _ him _ .

“Will you wear my jersey?” He asked, a little hesitantly. Three years he had been playing hockey in high school, and had had countless girlfriends during that time, but never once had he offered any of them to wear his jersey, or his letterman jacket. But, Felicity was different. She was more important to him than any of his previous girlfriends had been. And a bit crudely, he wanted to see her in something that marked her as his.

Felicity blinked up at him, “Won’t you be wearing your jersey?” She sounded so genuinely confused, it made Oliver smile even as he rolled his eyes. Felicity Smoak was the smartest person in any room, he had quickly realised, but when she was tired, really truly  _ exhausted _ , she might as well be the stereotypical bottle blonde with how long it took her to grasp a concept.

“My spare jersey, Felicity. I have more than one, you know.”

“But, why would you want me to wear it?”

Oliver shrugged, just one shoulder, just the one she wasn’t leaning up against, “You’re gonna be my cheerleader. Gotta wear my name on you.” He said it flippantly, knowing she won’t be able to argue with his slightly skewed logic in her current state. As expected, she made a show of thinking about it deep and hard for a moment, and then nodded resolutely,

“Okay. I will wear it.” She stated seriously, then shifted slightly so both her arms were wrapped around one of his, the strap of her sports bag slipping down to hang uncomfortably from her elbow, but she didn’t seem to notice, “Oliver, I’m gonna be the best cheerleader in the world for you, I promise.”

She was looking up at him so earnestly, her pink lips puckered with determination in a way that made it extremely hard to not kiss her. He placed a butterfly light brush of his lips against her hair instead, “I know. You already are.”

And she was. Nobody had ever believed in Oliver the way Felicity did. Whether it was hockey, or his schoolwork, or his struggling relationship with his parents, Felicity was ever optimistic that Oliver would be able to get through everything and come out the other side of it all a better man. That kind of belief, it was humbling as much as it was terrifying. And Oliver never wanted to be without it again.

“What about you? When’s your first competition?” He asked softly, stopping at the crossroads as he watched cars pass them by. 

“The day after your game apparently.” She said cheekily, “I would ask you to come, but, I’ll be flying to Vegas for the competition so-”

He raised a singular brow in her direction, smirking lightly, “What makes you think I won’t come to Vegas to watch you skate?”

Felicity blinked, the abruptly pulled away from him only to come stand in front of him, her hands clutching his forearms, “You’ll really come all the way to Vegas to watch?” Her voice was hopeful, and Oliver was sure, if she had the energy, she would be bouncing in place right about now. As it was, Oliver could tell how excited she was at the prospect of his attendance from how hard she was trying not to smile. It was adorable, 

“Of course. This cheerleading thing is a two-way street.” 

She let out an excited little _eep_ , jumping up to throw her arms around his shoulders, and he hugged her back, laughing delightedly as he picked her up, making her kick her feet a little in mid air. The streets were fairly deserted, the sunset a bright red across from them. Oliver watched the color reflect through the many glass office buildings around them with a satisfied sigh. This was nice. This was really nice. But, they were almost at Felicity’s apartment blocks, and soon they will be parting ways. He frowned,

“Hey.” He called, gently placing her back on the ground. She was swaying even as she hummed happily in response. Oliver wrapped his arm around her again, pulling her in so she was leaning on him with an indulgent smile, “You wanna go for ice-cream?” he asked in an effort to stall their time together. Felicity perked up, nodding enthusiastically,

“Oh yes. Mint chip. I love mint chip.” She said, looking around, “There’s a nice little parlor just two streets over that has the best mint chip.”

“Okay, let’s go get you some mint chip.”

Felicity’s favorite ice-cream place was a pale blue nook in the wall little store with a 1950s decor that made Oliver think he might’ve entered a music video set for a second. There weren’t a lot of customers considering the weather was a bit chilly, but the woman next to the cashier, was chirpy as ever as she welcomed them into the store, 

“What can I get the pair of ya’?” She asked, her accent a little thick. She had a motherly vibe to her that made Oliver relax slightly. She reminded him of Raisa the way she smiled at them with genuine warmth,

“Mint chip!” Felicity exclaimed, making Oliver chuckle,

“A mint chip for the lady. And I’ll get the salted caramel.”

The woman’s- Shareen’s, her name tag red- smile turned a little more amused at Felicity's excited antics, and Oliver could almost see her fall as fast for the girl next to him as Oliver himself had. Getting  _ Smoaked,  _ Diggle called it. Oliver found it an accurate term.

“Be right up, darling.”

Oliver gave the free toppings a once over while Shareen filled up their cones and handed them to Felicity,

“Do you want peanuts on yours?” He asked her, going for a spoonful of them to sprinkle on his cone, but Felicity made a face,

“Can’t. I’m allergic.”

Immediately, Oliver’s hand froze, spoonful of crushed peanuts in mid air, “Oh.” He mumbled, and then placed the peanuts back in their bowls.

Felicity frowned at his actions, “You can still get them if you want, Oliver. They don’t affect me as long as they’re not in my mouth.”

Oliver tried very, very hard to not blush. But, considering the amused smile that was painting itself on Shareen the ice cream lady’s face, it wasn’t working very well. He cleared his throat, “No. It’s fine. I don’t really like peanuts all that much anyway.”

“If you’re sure.” Felicity said, still staring at him contemplatively. There was a light blush building over her cheeks too, and Oliver, eager to change the subject, quickly paid and then grabbed her hand to lead them back outside the shop.

They ate their respective ice-creams in slightly embarrassed silence as he walked her to her apartment, though their hold on each other’s hand was firm. He could feel her eyes on him, but she turned away every time he turned to look at her, only for him to do the same. It was ridiculous. This game they were playing. He knew he liked her, knew it went much deeper than just  _ liking  _ her. And he was pretty sure she liked him back. She wouldn’t be holding hands and eating ice-cream as if on a date with another man, would she?

But at the same time, what if she  _ didn’t  _ like him that way? What if he made everything so unbearably awkward with an unwanted confession that she never spoke to him again?

Just the thought of it was sent a shudder down his spine, and Oliver shook his head. Felicity was too important to him to lose her because of his unnecessary feelings. They had a good thing going on as it were. The  _ best _ thing. And Oliver could live a happy enough life even if all he ever would be to her was her best friend.

“So, do you have a routine yet? For the competition?”

“Oh yes, Coach Smith sent me the finished choreography just this afternoon. It was something we had been working on on and off for a couple of months before I came to Starling.” Felicity replied, thankful for a new topic of conversation. Silences between her and Oliver were rarely ever awkward, but if they were, they were usually charged with this tension she would rather not examine too closely for her own sanity’s sake. 

“Yeah? What song will you be dancing to?” 

She smiled up at him, grinning at Cheshire grin, “Now, Mr.Queen, where would the mystery be in just telling you that?”

Oliver rolled his eyes, “You know I’ll find out when I see you practice tomorrow, don’t I?”

“Not if I wear my air pods, you won’t.”

Oliver narrowed his eyes, “You wouldn’t.”

“It’s a good song, Oliver. I want you to listen to it for the first time when I’ve perfected it. When I’m wearing the right dress and the right makeup and feeling my most confident.”

His eyes softened at that, and they stopped when they reached her apartment building, their ice creams eaten and lips sticky sweet. She wondered for a second, what it would taste like to kiss him right then? Mint chip plus salted caramel plus Oliver. She desperately wanted to find out.

“Obviously, we- we didn’t know each other when I decided on this song for my first proper competition.” She said, stuttering a little in her nervousness. Their hands still holding each other, Oliver squeezed her fingers a little in comfort, and she smiled at him, “But, I think it very nicely sums up how I feel about you. That song.”

“Yeah?” Oliver asked, his voice coming off a little hoarse from his own nerves. Her feelings. About him. Oliver didn’t know if he should be over the moon or scared shitless.

“Yes.” She nodded, resolutely in a way that made her high ponytail bounce over her shoulders. Oliver’s lips pulled up in a tiny smile,

“Okay then, I’ll wait.”

“Okay.” 

They just looked at the other for a moment, unable to tear their gazes from each other even as the sky darkened around them, stars beginning to blink into existence. The street lamps had been switched on a while ago, and while unflattering on literally anybody else, Felicity looked almost ethereal with the fluorescent orange light shining down on her. It made it incredibly hard for Oliver to take a step back when all he wanted to do was crowd her against one of the poles and kiss her senseless,

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” He said, taking a half step back, their joined hands dangling a little higher in air as the distance between them widened. Felicity sighed happily, a little wistfully, gave him a sweet smile,

“Bright and early.” She agreed. Oliver took another half step back. Their fingers unwound, let go, and Oliver let his hand hang loose by his side, nodded.

“Okay. Bye.”

It made Felicity giggle, how reluctant he was to leave. It made her heart race. She laughed a little, and then a little more when he pouted in response,

“Good bye, Oliver.”

Oliver nodded again, began walking backwards on the deserted street, “You should go in.” He called out, eyes still on her. Felicity shook her head, in equal parts exasperated and endeared at his behavior, and waved him goodbye one last time before turning around to go upstairs. 

When she reached her apartment on the second floor, she didn’t even hesitate before dashing over to her bedroom and peering out of her window. She could just barely see him at the street corner, his head ducked down and a hand ruffling the back of his hair. She smiled, the smile a little lovesick and sighed when she pulled up the recording of the song she had saved on her phone, connecting it to her Bluetooth speakers so that she could listen to it while she took a bath.

Yes. Yes, it fit him perfectly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is soooo fluffy goodness *sighs*
> 
> question: what song do you think felicity chose for her routine? hint: it was released by Sleeping At Last ;)
> 
> anyway, to want to know when i upload next, or if you just want to talk to me, you can just follow me on:
> 
> twitter: [@ymnfilter](https://twitter.com/ymnfilter)
> 
> tumblr: [@ymnfilter](https://ymnfilter.tumblr.com/)
> 
> kudos and comments are always appreciated. I'll see you...next week-ish? for the final chapter.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the final chapter!
> 
> thank you so much for all the feedback and kudos in the earlier chapter. thank you for going on this mini journey with me. i'm usually not good with aus that are completely non-canon compliant, or even writing unestablished relationships, so, this was a struggle in both of those fronts. 
> 
> i'm happy with it though, and i hope you guys are too.
> 
> anyway, i won't hold you for too long, if you want to listen to me rant, or want to read my other works, you can follow me on:
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> tumblr: [@ymnfilter](https://ymnfilter.tumblr.com)  
> twitter: [@ymnfilter](https://twitter.com/ymnfilter)
> 
> HAPPY READING!

Felicity never really realized how… _violent_ hockey could be.

She had watched the Starling Prep’s Panthers enough to know that it obviously wasn’t as isolated as figure skating was. She’d had her heart caught in her throat quite a few times Oliver had been knocked down, either accidentally or on purpose by fellow team mates to know that matches usually got violent, so much so that sometimes referees needed to intervene,

But, she had never, never witnessed them like this.

Starling Prep’s Panthers were playing against Chase Academy’s Eagles. A rivalry between the two teams had been brewing since before Oliver’s freshman year, though Felicity didn’t know a lot more than that. The match had been tense from the beginning, fans from both sides boo-ing as players were introduced. It took a minute for Felicity to get a lock on Oliver, with everyone wearing a helmet that pretty much covered 90% of their faces, but once she did, she made sure to not look away for a moment too long.

She was wearing his jersey -an emerald green with black, white and gold stripes, with the number 24 printed on the back- as gigantic as it was on her, and knew it was garnering stares. He had given it to her that morning, knowing he won’t be able to see her until the end of the game. Unlike the rest of the student body that were sitting on the bleachers, Felicity had walked down to stand next to Coach Wilson and the rest of the team to watch the players in the rink warm up. Oliver grinned widely when he noticed her, and skated closer to the boards till he was right in front of her,

“Hey.”

“Hi.” She grinned, walked a few steps closer to lean against the board separating them, “How’re you feeling?”

“Nervous.” He admitted with a little strangled chuckle, pulling off his helmet to run his hands through his hair, “It’s the first game. This will set the tone for the rest of the season.”

“You’re gonna be wonderful.” She promised him, knowing in her heart of hearts that it was true. His smile widened, turned a little confident, a little cocky, and he winked at her,

“Yeah?”

“Oh yes.” The referee blew a whistle, signaling the players to line up, and Oliver skated back a little, “Wish me luck.” 

“Wait-” He paused, she pulled him in by the cloth of his jersey till their faces were inches apart, and then, losing her nerve in the very last second, brushed her lips against his forehead instead, his eyes closing instinctively on contact, “Good luck.” She breathed against his skin.

Oliver gulped, nodded, blinked his eyes open. 

“Can’t lose now.” He said with a tone that was at the same time smug and breathless, his lips stretching into a grin wider than anything she had ever seen on him before. She grinned back and watched him skate back to the line up before walking back up to the seats, resolutely ignoring the eyes of all the rest of the players sitting on the bench.

Felicity knew her cheeks were red. She could feel her face heating, but that did nothing to quell the smile stretching over her lips.

She took a seat next to Sara, who thankfully said nothing, though there was an infuriatingly knowing smile on her face, and just offered Felicity a sour gummy she had gotten from the concession stand outside.

“Thank you for coming. I know you don’t really have any interest in hockey.” She said to her friend making Sara roll her eyes,

“The only reason I’m here is to support you support your boyfriend.” She said, mouth filled with one of those warm jelly donuts. Felicity blushed. She wasn't sure she stopped blushing in the first place.

“Oliver and I aren’t dating.”

“You might as well be.” Sara replied, shrugging, “The entire school already thinks you do.”

Felicity opened her mouth to protest, then closed it in contemplation, “Really?”

“I mean, you guys really aren’t all that subtle. Ollie hasn’t even  _ looked  _ at another girl since you transferred here, and you just turned down Ray Palmer last Tuesday when he asked you out after Calculus.”

“Okay, first of all, I said no to Ray because he was creepy.” Felicity felt like she had to object , “Which other senior knows a junior’s entire class schedule?”

“True.” Her friend conceded, “But you have to admit, on paper, that man is perfect for you.”

“The key words being ‘on paper’.” She emphasized, “I’m not interested in him.”

“Yeah, because you’re interested in Oliver Queen instead.”

Protesting that would be a lie. So, Felicity said nothing. Instead, she went back to watching the game. Even after seeing so many practice matches after school, it was still a difficult sport to follow. The tiny little black puck was so small from such a distance that Felicity had to lean forward and squint just to keep track of it.

She jumped when a player banged harshly against the board, her tense muscles loosening slightly when she realized it was someone from the other team. The puck zipped back and forth from player to player, getting blocked by goalies again and again even as the first period ticked down. She could see why the Panthers and the Eagles would be considered such bitter rivals. Their techniques, as much as Felicity could understand, were well matched, neither scoring and neither letting the other team score.

It wasn’t until the very end of the first period that the Panthers scored. There was less than a minute left on the timer, and Digg had been cornered against the boards with the puck by three of the Eagles players. With a little twist and switch of his stick, suddenly, the puck was out of the huddle, and flying towards Oliver, who shot it directly into the goal just as the buzzer rang calling an end to the first period.

Felicity, who had been at the very edge of the seat during the entire time, was sure she had let out a whoop loud enough as she stood up to cheer, that it would’ve echoed if the rest of the spectators on their side of the stand weren’t cheering just as loud.

Oliver turned, his eyes meeting hers over the dozens of people sitting on the stands in between them, and Felicity couldn’t help it then, overcome with excitement and adrenaline that had nowhere to go, she giggled and bounced and then sent him a flying kiss that would’ve embarrassed her in any other moment.

Oliver froze for the second, surprised, only getting out of his head when the rest of his team tackled him in celebration. The first goal of any game was important. But, the first goal of the first game was remembered throughout the entire season. The morale was off the charts now. And Oliver’s heart was beating loudly, more from the two kisses he had got from Felicity Smoak in the last 20 minutes than the goal he just scored, and he knew in that moment, that as long as she was cheering him on, Oliver wasn’t ever going to lose.

The rest of the game was just as intense, and Oliver tried to catch Felicity in the bleachers every time he switched lines. Her concentration was always on the game, if not always on him, and he loved her a little more for it. He knew she wasn’t all that interested in sports. Especially not something as violent as hockey could be. Already, Oliver could feel bruises forming in multiple places despite all the protective gear, and he knew for a fact that Digg was having trouble with his right arm. John was a big guy though, which gave him an advantage over almost all the players in the opposing team, and Oliver knew that Wilson won’t switch him out unless Digg himself asked to be switched out.

Oliver also knew John would only ever get out of the rink before the game ended if he had to be taken out in a stretcher.

The second period ended with 1-0 for the Panthers and the entire hall could feel the Eagles tension building as minutes ticked past. There were twenty minutes left, and Wilson wanted them to defend all the way instead of going in for the offensive. And so that’s what they did.

Only, fifteen minutes in, the Eagles got a goal in despite Ramirez, the sophomore goalie’s block, and suddenly, the strategy was back to offensive. Neither of the teams wanted the first game of the season to end in a tie. Nobody wanted to play overtime, already running on pure adrenaline as they were, and so they charged with abandon instead. 

By the end of the game, Felicity had to admit, she got a bit dizzy trying to focus. Players changed every minute, the puck was flying all over the rink at what felt was the speed of light, and the crowd around her was so wound up, she was sure that the entire hall was vibrating by the time the last minute of the last period started counting down.

Panthers’ Number 22 Harper switched-in in place of number 04 Holt, and Felicity bit her lip. She knew Roy pretty well. He always hung out with Digg or Oliver during practice despite being a freshman, and was talented enough that there were talks of him taking over Oliver as Captain when he graduated.

The field was in their favor. Digg, Oliver and Roy were all inside the rink at the same time for the first time, and Felicity, now excited, jumped up to look more closely, ignoring the slight protest from one of the girls behind her. She felt like her stomach had climbed up to her throat as she watched Oliver fight for the puck from two of the Eagles, watched as he shot it towards Roy who, without hesitation redirected it so that it was flying towards Digg, who immediately shot it towards the goal-

Everybody in the audience held their breath. Every player on both teams held their breath. Felicity was sure even Coach Wilson wasn’t breathing. Time seemed to slow down even as the buzzer indicating the end of the game rang in their ears just as the Eagles’ goalie tried to block the puck with a lunge. It flew past his gloves from inches below and hit the net. 

The silence that followed was so eerie that you could’ve heard a pin drop, but it only lasted a half a second before cheers erupted from the crowd. Felicity found herself getting crushed in a hug by Sara, and another girl she had never met before, but her eyes sought out Oliver almost immediately. He too, was buried in a celebratory huddle, laughing and shouting as he gave Roy a noogie

She paused, breathing a bit heavily from all the excitement and just… took him in for a moment. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him look so breath-takingly happy before. It made her feel like her heart was floating. She ran down the bleachers, pulling open the door that separated the rink from the outside at the same moment Oliver turned around, their eyes locking, matching relieved smiles on their faces, and then he was skating towards her, pulling her up in his arms and spinning her around even as she laughed against his ears,

“You won!” She exclaimed, eyes shut tight as she concentrated on just breathing him in. He smelled of sweat just then. Warm sweat and boys locker room and gym socks and over-powering axe, and overall quite gross but she couldn’t care less. He had  _ won. _

“Of course I did.” He replied, his lips brushing against her hair, “You were watching me the whole time.”

“Of course I was.” She said, and pulled away just enough to be put down so that they were face to face. He was even taller than her than he usually was, with him in skates and her in her comfy trainers, and she had to tilt her head up at a ridiculous angle to meet his eyes. With his sweat damp hair sticking to his forehead and standing up at odd angles at the back because of his helmet, and flushed red cheeks and glitter sparkly eyes, he was the most gorgeous thing she had ever seen.

“Felicity,” He breathed out, shook his gloves, tossing them on the ice to bring up his hands to her cheeks, holding her eyes. He looked nervous all of a sudden, and quietly she prayed for him to not back out like she had at the start of the game.

“Yeah?” 

He took in a bracing breath, “Will you go to dinner with me?”

She bit her lip to hold in a smile, then gave up the fruitless attempt to grin up at him instead, “As in a date?”

He breathed out a smile, “Yeah.” He huffed, pulled her a little closer, bending down to rest his forehead against hers. He was shutting down a little after the game, exhaustion filling every part of his body that adrenaline had occupied earlier. But this was important. Possibly more important than anything else Oliver had ever done in the last sixteen years of his life. “Yes, as in a date.”

Felicity nodded, he felt it as her forehead shifted against his own skin, “Yes.”

He smiled, tired and happy and relieved, pressed a lingering kiss right where his forehead had been moments ago, and then promptly wrapped her in a bear hug, that was more to support his ever increasing dead weight than anything else. Felicity giggled, a little surprised but mostly happy, and then placed her hands on his sides to carry as much of his weight as she could manage,

“Come on, big guy. You’re done for the day. Let’s get you home.”

❅❅❅❅

As far as timing went to ask someone out on a date, Oliver had to admit, his could’ve been better.

Last night, as soon as Felicity had agreed to dinner with him, Oliver had crashed, and had found himself basically dozing everywhere till he got home. He’s pretty sure he even fell asleep for a minute there while taking a cold shower in the locker room. After the after game team meet, Oliver had said goodbye to Felicity at the school gates with a peck on her cheek, too chicken to actually kiss her considering he hadn’t had the energy to brush his teeth, and then had Tommy drop him off back at his house, too exhausted to even contemplate attending the after game party.

When he woke up the next day, Oliver was acutely aware of the packed duffle bag sitting on his desk chair. Felicity had said she was going to be flying to Vegas early in the morning for her competition, and while Oliver was following her just that afternoon to watch her compete, the idea of next however Felicity-less hours before they got a chance to meet again that night had him pouting even before his breakfast.

His parents hadn’t attended last night’s game, which wasn’t all that surprising considering neither of them had ever really taken Oliver playing hockey all that seriously. They had been proud when he had been made captain earlier than year, but in their eyes, that had only convinced them further that he would be a good fit to take a leadership position at QC after college. It didn’t matter anyway. Not really. The people that were truly important to Oliver were there yesterday. Tommy had been there. And so had Felicity. 

That was enough.

Oliver spent his Saturday afternoon vegging out on the couch. With both his parents at work, and little Thea currently out for her horse riding lessons, Oliver had the house to himself. He had spent the last half hour or so searching up dinner hot spots near the Las Vegas Ice Center where Felicity will be competing, wanting to take her out both as a date and as a celebratory dinner for when she won, because Oliver knew she was going to win.

Her competition started at around 9, and so by around three, Oliver was getting into the Queen private jet after sending off one last encouraging text to his best friend, bracing himself for the five hour long flight. Las Vegas was that one place he and Tommy always talked about going to, but never really did. And while he knew he wouldn’t be getting drunk and throwing money at a casino tonight like they did in all his hypothetical talks with Tommy, Oliver was still pretty excited about visiting the city of lights. The city also being Felicity’s hometown was just another point in its favor.

He had booked a hotel room under his father’s name, the nearest hotel to the ice center, and directly made his way over as soon as he checked in. It was almost 9 already, the traffic having been horrifyingly slow, and when he entered the hall, his eyes landed on the girl dancing on the rink immediately. It wasn’t felicity, and he breathed in relief.

Good. He hadn’t missed it.

He quietly took a seat in the middle row of the bleachers. The entire hall was very quiet, except for the music that was playing during the skater’s program. There weren’t a lot of people there either. Just a few rows filled here and there filled with spectators and in the three seats at the front sat judges with score boards, paying close attention to the current competitor.

The girl, maybe a year or so older than Felicity herself, with dark hair and a purple costume, jumped in the double axle when the song reached a high note, but stumbled the landing a little bit. There was a polite smattering of applause, but Oliver’s eyes were already wandering. He looked around, eyes roving the space just outside the rink where the rest of the players were warming up. His breath caught when he saw Felicity. She was wearing a deep green skating costume, the rhinestones following the lines of her curves and making Oliver feel a bit dizzy as he followed them down. Her hair was up in the bun, tendrils of soft blonde strands falling over and framing her face prettily. Her eyes were closed, her lips moving quietly. He knew better to think that she was praying. Most probably, she was just going through the routine in her head to curb her nerves. The sight made him smile softly. She was adorable.

The lights dimmed when the skater’s routine ended, and Oliver clapped with everyone else though he hadn’t paid attention to even a second of it. Then the room darkened further, enough that for a moment Oliver was worried something had gone wrong. But then, a spotlight shone on to the middle of the rink, and another moment later, Felicity was skating in the middle of it, someone with a mic announcing her name, age and district. Oliver clapped again, much more enthusiastically, wanting to jump up and whoop but also not wanting to embarrass her by acting like an idiot. 

The room was dark enough that Oliver was sure there was no way she would be able to single him out in the audience. And yet, when the first strains of the piano started playing from the speakers, her eyes very intently met his.

_ I think it very nicely sums up how I feel about you. That song.  _ He remembered her saying to him a couple of days ago then. And he straightened in his seat, suddenly unnervingly nervous for himself, though he knew he had no reason to. She had already said yes to a date with him. Whatever the song was, at least he knew it wouldn’t be something that would friendzone him.

The piano wasn’t exactly sad, but it was somber, and so were her movements on the ice. Felicity’s skating always fascinated Oliver. For someone who was always so bubbly and bright, he knew she preferred softer, slower ballads to perform to. 

The music gained momentum just as Felicity’s skating did, and when finally the first vocalization kicked in, just behind the drums, she jumped a triple axle, landing as light as a bird before continuing on to the other other side of the rink while the hall erupted in applause,

_ May these words be the first to find your ears, _

_ The world is brighter than the sun, now that you’re here _ .

Oliver paused in his cheering to pay attention when the lyrics started, and found himself grinning like an absolute idiot when the words hit,

_ I’ll give you everything I have, _

_ I’ll teach you everything I know, _

_ I promise, I’ll do better. _

_ I will always hold you close, _

_ But, I will learn to let you go, _

_ I promise, I’ll do better. _

He watched her glide through the ice, words more precious than the universe itself echoing through his ears intercepted only by the sounds of her blades hitting the ice. Her eyes were closed as she glided through, opening half-mast with every turn, every spin. She was breath-taking. She was stunning. And in that moment, with that song, she was promising him a kind of love he had never experienced before.

_ I will soften every edge, _

_ I will hold the world to it’s best,  _

_ And I’ll do better. _

_ With every heartbeat I have left, _

_ I will defend your every breath, _

_ And I’ll do better. _

The music reached its crescendo, and Felicity stretched in a Biellmen spin,

_ Cause you are loved, you are loved, more than you know, _

_ I hereby pledge all of my days to prove it so. _

_ Though your heart is far too young to realize, _

_ The unimaginable light you hold inside. _

He didn’t care then, he jumped up in standing ovation in the middle of the performance, though the rest of the audience seemed just as mesmerized as him, none of their eyes leaving Felicity for even a second to give him a glance. 

Eventually, the song ended, and Felicity ended the routine with a final waltz jump and spin, breathing heavily by the end of it, her cheeks flushed red both from the routine and the wild applause that followed. Oliver jumped out from his seat when she began skating off the rink, meeting her halfway just as the lights came back on. She seemed surprised to see him waiting for her by the boards, but her wide grin told him it wasn’t a bad surprise at all. He didn’t even let her step off the ice, just hauled her into his arms, relishing in her squeak-giggle as she wrapped her arms around him just as tightly,

“I take it you liked the song?” She whispered to him. Behind them, he knew, another participant was starting their routine. Oliver couldn’t care less.

“I love you.” He confessed into her shoulder. Felt her stiffen against his lips before trying to burrow herself even further into his arms, her grinning lips branding themselves in the space between his shoulder and his neck.

“Oh, Oliver Queen.” She breathed in, he felt her go boneless against him, sort of melt until his ridges and her curves lined up perfectly against each other, “Oliver Queen, I love you too.”

~fin~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and we're done.
> 
> again, thank you for reading. every comment and kudos means the world to me. 
> 
> this was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but it evolved into something much bigger. if you want to see more of this verse' oliver and felicity, comment down below and lemme know. i might make it a series ;)
> 
> for now, good bye~
> 
> p.s if you want to read my other works, you can follow me on:
> 
> tumblr: [@ymnfilter](https://ymnfilter.tumblr.com)  
> twitter: [@ymnfilter](https://twitter.com/ymnfilter)
> 
> p.p.s. can't believe i wrote an entire fic with them not kissing even once. now /that's/ a miracle right there. there just never seemed to be a right time *shrugs*
> 
> edit: it was brought to my attention that i didnt mention the name of the song felicity chose for her routine. its Light - Sleeping At Last and is painfully Olicity.

**Author's Note:**

> if you want to see what program inspired Felictiy to start figure skating, i will leave a link to it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELFerA2QZX8)
> 
> this is the first of three parts, all of which have already been written up. As always, kudos and comments are forever appreciated ;)
> 
> if you want to know when i update, or just want to see me rant while i write, you can follow me on:
> 
> tumblr: [@ymnfilter](https://ymnfilter.tumblr.com)  
> twitter: [@ymnfilter](https://twitter.com/ymnfilter)


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